I recently decided to play through every Legend of Zelda game in order. I want to make my comprehensive ranking of every Zelda game. Keep in mind that it is MY list. I know that some of these rankings are going to go against the hive mind of Zelda fandom. But that’s what makes it fun!

With that said, Let’s time travel back to 1986 to where it all began…

Now I should probably tell you: I LOVE The Legend Of Zelda. I don’t mean just a few of the entries… I mean the entire series. In fact, in my department in college, I was known as “the Zelda kid.” I tried to wear a different Zelda themed shirt to each class and had a Hylian shield backpack that I took to class every day. Because of this, I met countless Zelda fans over the years. Each and every one of them had some sort of story or argument about one of the games. Everyone knows The Legend of Zelda, or at least knows about it. I mean everyone. I have had countless conversations about the series and everyone that talks to me about it loves the games (maybe not all the games). Which is really incredible when you think about it. The series spans 34 years and everyone has at least one game that they love. It seems like everyone has played at least one Zelda game. No matter which game it was in the series, that person usually remembers it fondly.

The Legend of Zelda came out 34 years ago believe it or not. The game came out, and immediately became one of Nintendo’s flagship series. No Nintendo console would be complete without a Zelda game. Impressively, Each entry separates itself from the rest in one way or another, for better or worse. So what about the very beginning?

The Legend of Zelda creates a precedent and formula for the rest of the games in the series. As much as the games shake it up from release to release, they usually follow what the original set up in the very beginning. It sets up how a Zelda game should work, and it does it flawlessly. The original Zelda did so many things perfectly, it’s truly impressive. It has Link, it has Zelda, it has dungeons, it has items, a final confrontation with Ganon, and so many other staples in the Zelda series. Nintendo truly knocked it out of the park on a first attempt. A lot of video games perfect their formula in the sequel, but not Zelda. It crushes it the first time out.

The game is set up in a large grid. Each section in the grid makes up a screen of the game. As you traverse the world, you move from screen to screen revealing new enemies, puzzles, and dungeons.

This series of scrolling screens is mostly because of the N.E.S.’ limitations, but it works insanely well. The way that you slowly discover more and more of the map really makes you feel like a cartographer discovering a new world. Which is the main take away from the first Zelda; the sense of discovery. No game in the series captures this sense of adventure as well. You are thrown into this world with little to no direction. The first screen you drop in to gives you the freebie in the form of a sword, but other than that, it’s up to you. You have to just walk around figuring out what to do. In fact, unless you have the game manual, you don’t even know the story of the game. You slowly uncover more and more of the map. As you complete dungeons, you get items that help you traverse even further into the map. It works amazingly well.

Speaking of items, the items in the original Zelda are a little different. Sure there are the usual suspects like bombs, boomerangs, and bows and arrows. But there are items that help you discover more of the map, like rafts and ladders. It’s a departure from mainline Zelda, but it works perfectly. It’s honestly surprising that it hasn’t been utilized in more of the games.

Now, back to the N.E.S.’ limitations; The N.E.S. controller only has two buttons on it. The D-pad is bound to Link’s movement and the start and select button are reserved for pausing and pulling up your item menu. That leaves just the two buttons on the controller. Zelda has the B button bound to Link’s sword. This means that only one button is used for everything else. This seems crazy when you think about it, but the game never feels limited. You get to choose what goes on the A button and this opens up a sense of freedom unparalleled at the time. You actually have an amazing amount of control and precision over Link. This game holds up astonishingly well. Something you can’t say about most N.E.S. games.

With that said, the precision of the control you have over Link is very important because this game is hard… Expect to die when playing this game for the first time. The bosses are hard, the enemies are hard, the dungeons are hard, this game is just hard. But! Because you’re given so much control over Link, you can see yourself getting better. Each fight is a chance to increase (or show off) your mastery of the game. Which leads to some of the best battles in the ENTIRE series believe it or not.

The Wrapup

Is the Legend of Zelda worth playing Today?

YES!

It is a perfect game, even today. I honestly couldn’t think of one thing to change. This game sets the tone for the rest of the series and does it perfectly. Everyone should play this game, especially if you’re a fan of any of the Zelda games. I understand that the top down Zeldas aren’t for everyone, but you have to do yourself a favor and play this game. Each dungeon and boss fight is better than the last. Which is good because the difficulty curve can be pretty jarring to a new player. Just keep playing and eventually you will topple Ganon and nab the girl.

So, the real question is: does the game hold up today? The short answer is: absolutely. This game is timeless and honestly perfect, regardless of time. It is perfectly playable and an amazing experience. Just be warned that this game does not do any hand holding. You are dropped in blind and it’s up to you to find out what to do. Which is how I recommend playing this game the first time. Please do yourself the favor and just play it blind. The first time I played it, I went around bombing every wall and burning every bush trying to find everything. It creates a sense of adventure that very few games are able to capture. Please, please play this game as if it were 1986 and you couldn’t just Google a guide. That’s where this game truly shines.

The game is short, however. Granted I’ve played this game 100 times or more, but the play through for this review took around two and a half hours. And I got 100% of everything in the game. But… there’s always second quest! That’s right, after finishing the game, you unlock second quest. A revamp of all the dungeons in the game. Giving even more of this wonderful game.

This review is the start of a series of reviews I want to do. I’m going to go through every Zelda game and rank them all, as well as give them a review along the way. I plan on doing this for more than just Zelda games too. I want to do entire series of things: books, games, movies, you name it!

So! With the first one down, what does The Legend of Zelda get? I’m sorry, but I cannot give this game anything other than a perfect score. I promise to be a little harder on games in the future, but I can’t stand the idea of this game not being on the perfect game list. This game set up so many things for one of the best video game series ever, and it did it flawlessly.

As for its ranking among its peers, The Legend of Zelda sits at one of one. Because, well… I’ve only reviewed one so far. But how long will it sit on top? I guess we will have to wait and see…

Please play this game, it’s perfect… 4 out of 4.